Promising Land: Thailand and Indonesia

As one of the largest markets in Southeast Asia, Thailand is a land of opportunity for many. Be it government or private sector, the demand for security technology and equipment has never been greater. Indonesia, on the other hand, is an entirely different story.

With a well-developed infrastructure, a free-enterprise economy and pro-investment policies, Thailand is among Southeast Asiaˇs best economic performers. ¨Boosted by increased consumption, strong export growth and increased expenditure in infrastructure modernization projects,〃 said Manop Homsuwan, General Manager of Bosch Security Systems Thailand, ¨the overall domestic security market in Thailand is estimated to be growing at 7.5 percent per annum.〃 Though there are others who have pegged growth at 20 to 30 percent per year.

In response to both global and domestic requirements for greater public security, the Thai government is increasing its investment in safety and security equipment, particularly at or around airports and seaports. In addition to international requirements for stricter security measures specifically at ports, the ongoing unrest in the three southern provinces of Thailand, said Homsuwan, has prompted the government to increase its investment in stricter safety and security measures and more adv anc ed t e chnologi c a l abilities to ensure greater public safety.

Thailand is a market of growing demand for security devices and technology. According to David Viccars, Managing Director of Chubb Thai land (a UTC Fire & Security company) , the 2007 electroni c security market for Thailand is projected to be US$150 million, while guarding services are valued at $40 million. Henny Beeber, Chief Technical Officer of AES Group, gave a similar but lower market size estimate of $120 million. Founded in 1992, AES provides security and communication products, system engineering and maintenance services to both military and commercial sectors.

Market Drivers and New Projects

For Bosch, the Security division enjoyed a high growth rate in 2006, especially from the CCTV product segment which achieved the highest growth thus far in terms of value. Some prestigious projects executed last year, according to Homsuwan, included major public transportation, city surveillance and key commercial and government buildings.

Transportation

According to Johnny Trivitayakhun, Managing Director of Semple Cochrane (one of the largest Thai-owned system integrators), the new Suvarnabhumi International Airport has more than 1,500 DVTel network cameras in stalled in the passenger terminal. For the surrounding infrastructure, subcontractor Smith Detection has supplied more than 1,600 Bosch network cameras, said Beeber. And the new airport rail link, due for completion in 2008, has adopted fully integrated security systems that include IP-based cameras, access control and video analytics.

¨Also, there are 22 royal palaces throughout the country, and each of them is adjacent to an airport. These airports have a very high demand for security as well,〃 said Trivitayakhun. Steven Tan, General Manager of Secur ity Elec tronics Division at Chemco, suggests that improvement wor k s cheduled for four other international airports, 25 provincial airports and quite a number of military airports also presents sizable opportunities for security equipment vendors.

In addition, the Laem Chabang Port in Thailand needs to comply with the U.S. Container Security Initiative (CSI) by implementing tightened security measures for cargo handling. The port authority has already invested $34 million in security measures and services. Other smaller ports such as Map Ta Phut Port, Songkhla Deep Seaport, Nongkhai River Por t and Nakhonsawan River Port are also potential customers. Pichai Sihsobhon, Managing Directorof Security Communication Center, added that more budgets will soon be injected into the construction of new metro lines and rail links after the general election at the end of this year.

City Surveillance

The endless stream of terrorist activities in southern Thailand has prompted the government to beef up city surveillance. Industry sources revealed that approximately 9,000 network cameras are being installed in this region and will be connected directly to Bangkok's police headquarters, and more counterterrorist efforts will be made in other major cities and tourist attractions.

Retail And Real Estate

The retail sector is another major market for secur ity electronics. According to the U.S. Commercial Service, there are currently 117 discount stores, 230 depar tment s tores, 247 supermarket s, 3650 convenience stores and 650 specialty stores in Thailand. Despite the fact that most of them have basic security equipment for their internal operationssuch as inventory protection and safety of their premises (including easy access control systems, theft and intruder detection systems, smoke detectors and fire alarm systems), the increasing threat to public security is urging retail operators to ensure greater safety and security at their premises.

The U.K. chain Tesco is by far the largest and most aggressive foreign retailer, said Viccars of Chubb. ¨They have expanded hugely in the last few years with some 100 ˉmega mallsˇ and some 250 smaller convenience stores nationwide.〃Carre four (France) is also in Thailand, but on a more gradual growth curve focusing mainly on Bangkok with 22 stores.

¨Macro (from the Netherlands) was the first foreign retail chain in Thailand but only has about 20 stores,〃 Viccars continued. The Thai -owned Central Group, including Tops, has a range of malls and is the largest retailer in Thailand; the group also owns hotels and has a large property portfolio and other interests. The Thai -owned Mal l Group operates a mix of high-end mega malls like the Emporium and Paragon and the more traditional Thai malls.

¨Jusco from Japan is also here, with about 15 stores; 7/11 is here with over 3,000 stores,〃 recounted Viccars. All these retail stores plus super condominiums and mixed developments warrant limitless possibilities for vendors of video surveillance, access control and electronic article tracking systems, said Somphop Poshakrishna, Deputy Managing Director of Chubb Thailand. Commercial property and residential high rises are major users of safety and security equipment as well. Industry sources estimate that the sector represents approximately 50 percent of the demand for security equipment and services.

Overall, the Thai security market is growing and moving forward at an attractive rate. For 2007 and be yond, Bosch Thailand plans to grow at least double the rate of average market growth. ¨We are conf ident of achieving thi s target,〃 said Homsuwan. ¨We will focus on educating customers on our new technologies which are suitable for all businesses such as governmental organizations, financial institutes, transportation facilities and small - to-medium enterprises.〃

Who's Who

There is no known local production of security electronics. Major distributors, as suggested by Trivitayakhun of Semple Cochrane and Chubbˇs Viccars, include Pacific Technology Distribution, Security Communication Center, Seaworld Supply & Trading, Digitalcom, AES Group, AK Engineer and SGD International.

Major Thai security system integrators include Tyco, Chubb, Semple Cochrane and Secom; service providers for guarding are still very much in demand and include Chubb, Gunnebo, Leeco and Kingdom.

Overview of Indonesia

In Indonesia, several bomb attacks and threats to foreign embassies and tourist sites in various cities have underscored the need for heightened security. To prevent future attacks, the government of Indonesia has had plans to form a special counterterrorist agency, as an expansion of the current counterterrorist unit. This agency will have branches in cities throughout the country, requiring all kinds of security equipment.

According to the U.S. Commercial Service, the demand for security and safety equipment in Indonesia will continue to increase as more trade centers, malls and apartments are built in the next few years. At least 16 new trade centers and 44 apartment compl exe s we re compl e ted in 2006. Such facilities need security equipment and systems for access control systems, intrusion alarms, video surveillance systems, smoke detectors, fire alarms, anti-shoplifting devices and parking lot management systems.

Siemens Building Technologies (SBT ) first started doing business in Indonesia in 1998, with fire and building management, and SBT Indonesia entered into security in 2004, said Jeffry Tondang, Product Manager. ¨As project - based integration is quite limited, with only a handful of existing customers,〃 Tondang continued, ¨the CEO of SBT Global has shifted the company's focus from solutions to products in order to meet growth targets.〃 As a result, Tondang was tasked to conduct a field survey to find out the exact size of the Indonesian security market.

He visited 120 distributors and used the questions and formulae (for example, turnover, number of employees, product stocks, etc.) from the headquarters to get the following market data: video surveillance $16 million, access control $7 million and intrusion $3 million (products only, at distributor price; with 60-percent confidence level). According to Tondang, annual market growth is about 8 to 15 percent, and the local secur i t y mar ket i s highly polarizedpeople either choose high-end brands or price-competitive products.

Market Drivers and New Projects

In January 2005, the government of Indonesia offered 91 infrastructure projects worth $22.5 billion in five priority sectors, including transportation, gas pipelines, electric power, telecommunications, and water supply and resources. For airport projects, the government proposed development of the New Medan Airport ($250 million), the Soekarno- Hatta Extension Terminal ($178 million), a cargo processing facility at Soekarno-Hat ta Ai rpor t ($48 mi l l ion) , the Mak as sar Ai rpor t Extension ($94 million) and a new Lombok Airport ($139 million).

The government also plans to build a new railway from the city of Jakarta (Manggarai) to the Soekarno- Hatta Airport. The project, called Airport Railink, will require a $156 million in investment. For marine transport, the government plans to develop the Bojanegara Por t, the East Ancol Jakarta Port and the Balikpapan Port.

Ari Viryananda, System Support for Galva Technovision ( sole distributor of Sony), seconded these whi le adding that government projects such as power plants and city surveillance are also picking up. Sui Sen, National Sales Manager of Jessilindo Pratama, identified high-rise buildings, supermarkets, city surveillance and t ranspor - tation as important areas to watch, and commercial buildings and factories were brought up by Felix Kristianto, Team Leader of Systems Development Department at TOA Sound & Communications.

Major Players

Major players in video surveillance, said Eddy Tandyen, Product Manager for SBT Indonesia, are Bosch, Honeywell and Panasonic. Many of the interviewees suggested that mos t ins tal lat ions are s t i l l analog because there is virtually no IP infrastructure in Indonesia, except for the governmentˇs wireless programs.

Lester Chua, President Director of CISCO MAS, thinks that major CCTV brands include Panasonic, Samsung Techwin, Ganz , NCS , Advert and SAE, while Kristianto adds other Japanese and Taiwanese names such a s SANYO, SHARP, Sony, AVTech, AVerMedia and Hisharp into the mix.

¨Gunnebo is the largest distributor and system integrator in Indonesia, with 25 branch offices on various islands,〃 boasted Liong of Gunnebo, who also identified SBT, Secom and G4 Securicor as the companyˇs direct competitors. He thinks major CCTV brands are Pelco, CNB, ACTi and CBC; major access control system providers are Verex, TAC/Andover Controls and Gunnebo/Ritzenthaler; major reader brands are HID, Bioscrypt, Suprema and Keico.